President-elect Trump Vows to Release Long-Classified Government Records on Kennedy and King Assassinations
President-elect Trump promised Sunday to release long-classified government records on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. The pledge was made during his Victory Rally at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, where he told supporters it marked the beginning of an effort to increase government transparency.
Trump stated that as a step towards restoring transparency and accountability to government, his administration would reverse the over-classification of government documents and release remaining records relating to the assassinations. “It’s all going to be released,” he said.
The promise marks a reversal of Trump’s earlier decision to block the release of hundreds of records related to the JFK assassination. During his first administration, Trump had promised to release all the files, but withheld them citing potential harm to national security, law enforcement, or foreign affairs.
President-elect Trump also plans to release outstanding documents related to Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, whose assassinations took place in 1968. The release of King’s files, however, is subject to a 2027 deadline set by the Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act.
The pledge has sparked questions about how the president-elect will speed up the releases and ensure that they are made public in a timely manner.